Xpressionism, curated by famed photorealist painter Harry Sudman, is a beautifully extensive and thorough examination of different artists’ connections to the aesthetic of the erotic, fetish, and kink lifestyle. Sudman’s paintings of women within the Chicago kink and S&M scene are as much works of cultural anthropology as they are respectfully erotic paintings. What separates Sudman from many... 

Tabriz, Iran, 2012. (Image courtesy of ICY and SOT.) When they’re not crashing at a Brooklyn warehouse among a collective of creatives they’re tearing across America in a van and trailer with a punk band (why don’t more visual artists do this?). Street art duo ICY and SOT, two young brothers from Iran, have been taking the underground art world by storm. In an onslaught of paint and paste and... 

I have been aware of Harry Sudman’s paintings for several years but routinely missed opportunities to view his pieces in person.  After getting in touch with Sudman, we scheduled to meet at his studio in early May to view his paintings and discuss his process.  What I had anticipated to be a brief display of paintings and a quick chat morphed into a three hour, in-depth discussion about the Chicago... 

Christopher Ilth is a self-taught artist born and raised in Chicago. Ilth began drawing as a child but now works primarily in collage. Heavily influenced by Surrealism and Dada, his meticulous compositions offer a striking combination of organic, mechanical, and political imagery. Ilth also recently hosted a group art show reflecting the aesthetic of the “trash rock” scene called Tarantisimo...